1. Technical Field
One aspect of the present invention generally relates to a method and system for detecting objects, such as pedestrians and animals, using far infrared images.
2. Background Art
Many pedestrian detection systems have been proposed to mitigate pedestrian injuries resulting from the operation of vehicles. The typical pedestrian detection system includes one or more sensors mounted to the front of the vehicle for sensing conditions relating to the space in front of the vehicle to obtain data, which is transmitted to an onboard image processing unit. The image processing unit processes the collected data to detect whether a pedestrian occupies the space in front of the vehicle. If a pedestrian is detected, then the processing unit sends a signal to a vehicle warning system to alert the driver so that measures can be taken to avoid contact between the vehicle and the pedestrian. Moreover, the signal can be transmitted to an autonomous braking system to trigger autonomous braking of the vehicle.